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Auditing
firm under UN probe
The Sunday Times exclusively reported that two investigators were due this week to probe alleged irregularities on the part of PwC in a local privatisation exercise two years ago. Chief of UNDP's Investigations Department Paula Sadler, (Audit and Performance Review) and Louis Marano of the Internal Audit and Oversight Service of the UN Secretariat in New York met several government and non-governmental officials to investigate allegations against PwC with whom the UN has an agreement to monitor tsunami funds. This follows revelations that the Attorney General of Sri Lanka was on the verge of suing PwC for wilful misconduct and negligence in the privatisation of a major state institution, viz., Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation two years ago. The UN investigators had a three-hour meeting with the senior partner of PwC, Mr. Deva Rodrigo. Mr. Rodrigo confirmed the meeting with the UN investigators but refused to elaborate saying that it was agreed between him and the UN officials to keep the discussion confidential. Despite the much publicised comments of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and other senior UN officials that there would be utmost transparency in the accounting of near US $ 1 billion in donor funds for tsunami projects, the UN officials in Colombo refused to comment on the visit of the two UN investigators. Mr. Brennon Jones, media officer for the UN in Sri Lanka told The Sunday Times that he could only confirm the investigators had finished their part of the probe in Sri Lanka and left the island on Wednesday. The Director General of Public Enterprise Reforms Commission (PERC) Neil Wickramaararchi who met the investigators last Tuesday told The Sunday Times the UN officials were inquiring into conflict of interest issues concerning the auditing firm in the privatisation of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation where PwC was providing investment banking services and legal advisory services to the Government. The UN investigators also met officials of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA), the regulating authority for practising chartered accountants - the partners of PwC are members of this professional body. The President of ICA Idrajith Fernando told The Sunday Times the UN officials had inquired on how the members were governed and how the profession was regulated in Sri Lanka. The UN investigators also met Attorney General K.C. Kamalasbeyson, PC and Transparency International Sri Lanka President J C Weliamune before they left. |
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